GST Registration – Aadhaar Authentication – Implication & Guide

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs notified Provision for Aadhaar Authentication in GST Registration and physical verification of the place of business before GST registration vide Notification No. 62/ 2020-Central Tax.

Aadhaar Authentication was first introduced in 37^th GST Council meeting on 20^th September 2019. It was introduced to facilitate easy registration for bonafide trade and to curb/check fly-by-night operators who are taking advantage of easy registration in GST.

• A person opting to get registered under GST has to opt for Aadhar Authentication and date of submission of application will be date of such authentication and officer has to act upon the application within 3 working days.

• If a person doesn’t opts for Aadhar Authentication than physical verification of his place of business will be done & only after that registration number will be issued. Notice in Form GST REG-03 will be issued within 21 days from submission of application made without opting for Aadhar Authentication.

• Applicants, who, either do not provide Aadhaar, while applying for new registration or whose Aadhar authentication fails in validation, would be subjected to site verification by the tax department. However, Tax authority based on the documents produced can grant registration

• All these changes are effective for all applications with effect from 21/08/2020. Person who are already registered on GST Portal are not required to undergo Aadhar Authentication at this stage.

1. Applicability: CBIC specifies that Aadhar Authentication shall not apply to a person who is not a citizen of India or to a class of persons other than the following class of persons, namely:–

a) Individual;

b) authorised signatory of all types of Business;

c) Managing and Authorised partner; and

d) Karta of an Hindu undivided family

2. Steps for Aadhaar Authentication:

The following steps must be followed to authenticate aadhaar number for GST registration for all the authorised signatories mentioned on the application.

Step 1: On the submission of the application for registration, the authentication link shall be sent to the registered mobile number and email ID mentioned in the application.

Step 2: Click on the link. A window opens up where the user must enter the aadhaar number and the OTP received on mobile number and the email.

A confirmation message will be displayed for successful authentication.

The user can get authentication link once again anytime later by visiting the GST portal. Go to My Saved Applications> Aadhaar Authentication Status> RESEND VERIFICATION LINK to obtain the new link.

3. Deemed Approval:

The government has also introduced a system of deemed registration. If the concerned official has not taken any action within the specified time—that is, three days when Aadhaar authentication is used and 21 days when Aadhaar authentication is not used—then registration is deemed to have been granted.

If the registration application has neither been accepted, nor a notice for rejection has been issued, after the specified period, the application shall be deemed to be approved.

• Keeping in view the Covid 19 pandemic, the Officer may if the circumstances so warrant opt for asking for additional documents in lieu of the physical verification of the place of business, carry out the verification of such documents as he may deem fit.

Disclaimer: The Information compiled are my personal observation and the Interpretation of the Notification issued by CBIC. The author and the publisher disclaim any liability in connection with use of this information.